Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake in at-risk groups.

Lord Kamall: On 16 December, the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) that pregnant women of any age should be prioritised for COVID-19 vaccination. Pregnant women are included in priority group six, alongside adults under the age of 65 years old who have long term health conditions. We have provided vaccine toolkits for local services, stakeholders, partners and employers to address concerns on pregnancy, breastfeeding and fertility. We have shared case stories of women of childbearing age who received the COVID-19 vaccine before, during or after pregnancy to reassure women who may still be concerned. NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with regional teams and providers to ensure that advice on vaccination in pregnancy, including the risks and benefits of vaccination to pregnant women, is being offered in antenatal services and primary care settings.We are providing resources and additional information to charities and patient organisations representing those living with severely compromised immune systems to share with their members and followers. NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing tailored communications for specialists caring for each group of eligible patients within the immunosuppressed cohort. This will include template referral letters for clinicians to signpost patients for vaccination. We have enabled patients with a weakened immune system to receive a third dose from a walk-in site if they have received a referral letter from their general practitioner or hospital doctor, they are aged 12 years old or over and eight weeks has elapsed since their second dose.We are also ensuring that people with learning disabilities and autism can have reasonable adjustments made within the vaccination programme. This includes training resources for vaccination teams, accessible information such as an easy read vaccination invitation letter and consent form and a film on the COVID-19 vaccine.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that only two vaccination centres in England offer services to add overseas vaccines to the NHS COVID Pass.

Lord Kamall: The Department does not recognise the reported figures. Currently, 17 sites are capable of recording overseas vaccinations into the National Immunisation Management System. There is at least one site in each of the seven National Health Service regions in England.The number of vaccination centres offering this service in England is currently limited due to the rapid expansion of the booster programme. The list of vaccination centres offering this service will be expanded in due course.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatdiscussions they had with the professional bodies for (1) pharmacists, and (2) GPs, prior to the appeal for eligible adults to come forward for their booster vaccinations on 12 December; and when they expect the NHS vaccination programme to be operating at maximum capacity.

Lord Kamall: NHS England and NHS Improvement have regular discussions with the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association, the Royal College of General Practitioners and community pharmacy stakeholders, including the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee. These bodies were contacted prior to the announcement of 12 December.Whilst no specific date was set for the vaccination programme to be operating at full capacity, NHS England and NHS Improvement asked health systems to work partners, including local authorities, other public sector organisations and the voluntary and community sector, to maximise delivery during December 2021 and early 2022. This is to ensure every eligible adult over the age of 18 years old has been offered a booster vaccination by 31 December 2021.As of 19 December, three-quarters of eligible people in England over 40 years old and more than four fifths of people over 50 years old had received a booster dose, with approximately four million doses administered in England.

Influenza: Vaccination

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there is a robust flu vaccine supply chain in place through the winter season.

Lord Kamall: General practitioners and other providers are responsible for ordering flu vaccine supplies directly from manufacturers. The Department is in regular contact with stakeholders to ensure there is a robust supply chain throughout the winter. The Department has also secured additional central stock which are available for delivery should providers in England require more flu vaccines. Deliveries are typically phased between September and December with the majority of flu vaccines distributed to providers in the United Kingdom.

Influenza

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential severity of the 2021/22 flu season; and what steps they intend to take to mitigate the impact of flu on the National Health Service this winter.

Lord Kamall: The UK Health Security Agency routinely monitors flu activity, with the latest information showing that levels of flu in circulation have remained low to date.To minimise the risk of flu circulating this winter, providers will offer the flu vaccine to over 35 million people. The expansion of the programme includes a further offer of vaccination for those aged 50 to 64 years old and secondary school Year 11 to prevent onward transmission to vulnerable members of the community. We have also secured a central stock of flu vaccines in addition to stocks held locally.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Lord Smith of Hindhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government why theHealth Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 require members’ clubs and social clubs to enforce the wearing of masks, while other hospitality venues providing identical activities, such as pubs, are not required to; and why their approach to regulating members’ clubs and social clubs has changed from previous COVID-19-related regulations, under which such clubs were not treated differently to pubs and similar hospitality venues.

Lord Kamall: In contrast to previous periods when face-coverings were mandated, they are not required in hospitality settings such as cafes, restaurants and pubs as it is impractical to wear a face-covering whilst eating and drinking. While face coverings are required in settings including community centres, youth centres, members’ clubs and social clubs, they are not required in areas where eating and drinking occur.Social clubs and members’ clubs are diverse in the activities they offer rather than solely for eating and drinking. However, where a social club or members’ club is providing hospitality, there is a specific exemption for those areas within the premises from the requirement to wear face coverings, which provides consistency with the hospitality sector.

Travel: Coronavirus

Lord Tyrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made, if any, of the comparative costs of a PCR test for travel in (1) Germany, (2) France, (3) Italy, and (4) Spain.

Lord Kamall: No specific assessment has been made.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Lord Watts: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to answer the Written Questions tabled by Lord Watts on 17 November (HL4171, HL4172 and HL4173).

Lord Kamall: We responded to the noble Lord’s questions on 16 December and 29 December respectively.

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency: Staff

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address staff capacity issues within the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to ensure that patients get treatments in a timely manner.

Lord Kamall: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is moving to a focused and integrated organisational model to improve the outcomes it delivers for patients and the public. The MHRA has designed its proposed structure around the lifecycle of a product: science; research and innovation; healthcare; quality and access; and safety and surveillance. This will refocus its resources to ensure that new treatments are licensed and delivered more quickly. While the MHRA will be a smaller organisation, it will retain and increase its scientific and regulatory capabilities.

Cancer: Health Services

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce an action plan on cancer (1) diagnosis, and (2) treatment; and if they have such plans, when they will be introduced.

Lord Kamall: The Government is committed to the National Health Service (NHS) Long Term Plan which has set out ambitions that, by 2028; the proportion of cancers diagnosed at stages one and two will rise from around 54% now, to 75% of cancer patients; and 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis. It also sets out a series of actions, concerning diagnosis and treatment, for achieving these ambitions.In March 2021, the NHS published the 2021-22 priorities and operational planning guidance. This sets out the priorities for the NHS, including addressing the shortfall in the number of first cancer treatments, reducing the number of people waiting longer than 62 days for diagnosis and/or treatment and continuing to make progress on Long Term Plan priorities.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Lord De Mauley: To ask Her Majesty's Government why anyonewho is self-isolating but has had a negative COVID-19 PCR test is not allowed to leave self-isolation immediately.

Lord Kamall: Anyone notified by NHS Test and Trace or a local authority contact tracer that they have tested positive is legally required to self-isolate. People who have symptoms should self-isolate while they get a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. If the PCR test is negative, they no longer need to self-isolateContacts who are fully vaccinated or between the ages of 5 and 18.5 years old do not need to self-isolate. They are instead advised to take daily lateral flow device (LFD) tests for seven days. If they receive a positive result on the LFD test, they should self-isolate and take a confirmatory PCR test. If the PCR is positive, they need to self-isolate for 10 days from the test date. If the PCR is negative, they can leave self-isolation but should complete the remaining LFD testing routine.Unvaccinated contacts of a positive case are legally required to self-isolate if notified by NHS Test and Trace or a local authority contact tracer, unless they are taking part in an approved Workplace Daily Contact Testing (DCT) scheme. If they are not taking part in a Workplace DCT scheme and they choose to get a test, they must continue to self-isolate, even if the result is negative. This is because they could still become infectious.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many patients do not have access to a vaccination centre within 20 miles; and what assessment they have made of the impact of proximity to a vaccination centre on vaccine uptake.

Lord Kamall: 99% of the population in England live within 10 miles of at least one COVID-19 vaccination site. UK-wide data is not held centrally.The Department is continuously monitoring COVID-19 vaccine uptake and assessing ways to increase it further – with accessibility being a key driver. To support vaccine deployment and minimise inequalities in uptake, NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed practical guidance for communities to implement a range of interventions to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccinations.To ensure that uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine is maximised, there are now more sites in England delivering COVID-19 vaccines than at any other point in the programme, with around 3000 in total. This includes delivery though hospital hubs, vaccination centres, mobile/pop-up facilities, Primary Care Network-led sites, and community pharmacy-led sites. The network of vaccination sites has been designed to deliver the expected vaccine supply as quickly as possible and ensure safe and easy access for the whole population. For those in highly rural areas, where a vaccination site may be more difficult to reach there is a standard operating procedure for roving and other mobile delivery models to go directly to these communities.

Travel: Coronavirus

Lord Tyrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Kamall on 2 November (HL3083), what changes have been made to the information required from approved suppliers of COVID-19 PCR tests since 2 November.

Lord Kamall: From 12 November, all private providers are required to maintain the Government’s minimum standards for the international arrivals services they offer. The changes ensure that the standards of service of private providers are consistent with the quality expected, from initial application to throughout the lifetime of the service, to support public health. Any organisation involved in carrying out the end-to-end testing service cannot sell tests until the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has written to the appropriate organisation to confirm that the testing service meets the standard. Additionally, there have been amendments to the daily sales reporting, which as a mandatory legal requirement for all providers of international arrivals testing, must now include details in relation to tests that were cancelled that day.Following the recent changes to international travel, from 30 November 2021, it became a legal requirement to report S-gene target failure and particularly failure for the S-gene deletion 69-70 where the diagnostic laboratory is able to identify it. The minimum standards have been updated to reflect this.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether housebound patients are receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in the same timeframe as those who are able to visit vaccination centres in person; and, if not, what is the average delay.

Lord Kamall: The information is not held centrally in the format requested.

Influenza: Vaccination

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan toensure that there will remain a multi-supplier market for flu vaccine procurement in future seasons.

Lord Kamall: The flu vaccine market is complex with multiple manufacturers and products which are recommended for different cohorts. Each year the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations makes recommendations on which products should be used for each cohort. New products and technologies are emerging and the Department works closely with the industry to look at the future of flu vaccines. Furthermore, for the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons, the Department supported the introduction of new, quadrivalent recombinant flu vaccines to diversify the flu vaccine market and ensure a wide range of products are available now and in the future.

Coronavirus: Screening

Lord Tyrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Kamall on 12 October (HL2767), why the direct costs of an at-home PCR test are commercially sensitive.

Lord Kamall: The direct cost of an NHS Test and Trace polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is commercially sensitive as the release of this information would be detrimental in future negotiations with individual suppliers of PCR tests.